Kentuckians remember Loretta Lynn, who was 'straightforward, just like her music'

Kentucky native and country music superstar Loretta Lynn died peacefully Tuesday morning at the age of 90 at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

The multi-Grammy winner was the first woman to win the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year Award, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient who never lost her love for her deep Kentucky roots.

"I interviewed her in 2004 before her show at the Louisville Palace and it was one of my all-time favorite interviews," said former longtime Courier Journal music writer, Jeffrey Lee Puckett. "She was straightforward, just like her music. I told her in high school I'd had a crush on her sister Crystal Gayle and Loretta immediately invited me to their next family reunion at Butcher Hollow so I could meet her sister. That's just what she was like."

In 2004, Lynn was enjoying a music renaissance which began when she teamed up with White Stripes guitarist Jack White and released "Van Lear Rose." The album won two Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album in 2005 and made it possible for Lynn to embark on a tour at age 72, playing to a new generation of fans.

"Her voice was amazing that night," Puckett told the Courier Journal. "She was like the wise old lady next door who could sing like a son of a gun."

Rock star Jack White, who produced Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" album, said, “she is the single most important female singer-songwriter of the 20th century."

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Born in 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, Lynn's monumental career spanned decades and brought her back to perform many times in the Bluegrass State. In 1971, Lynn organized a large benefit concert with 50 other country music artists who performed at Louisville's Freedom Hall. The concert was held to raise funds for the widows and children of 38 miners who were killed in an explosion at a coal mine near Hyden, Kentucky.

"She was a music icon and incredibly proud of her Kentucky roots," said Coyote Calhoun, longtime music director at WAMZ.

In her 1969 smash hit, "Coal Miner’s Daughter," Lynn told the story of her Kentucky upbringing. When an autobiography and a movie were released, Butcher Hollow became a part of the story of country music.

"There were two world premieres of 'Coal Miner's Daughter' when the movie was released in 1980," Calhoun remembers. "One was in Tennessee and the other took place in Louisville at the Showcase Cinemas."

Lynn hand-picked actress Sissy Spacek to play her in the film. Both Lynn and Spacek attended the Louisville premiere event. For her portrayal of Lynn, Spacek went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in "Coal Miner's Daughter."

Although Calhoun remembered speaking to Lynn briefly at the premiere, he had more one-on-one time with Lynn during the annual Country Music Association Week event in Nashville, Tennessee.

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"She was extremely down to earth and we talked about her music and about her life," he said. "I asked her what it was like to be a teenager and married and I'll never forget she said, 'The wedding was a lot of fun but the wedding night frightening.'"

Many of Lynn's songs are filled with specifics of her life, yet had a universal appeal. She wrote about her difficult childhood and fights with her husband and managed to strike a collective nerve. "And, without ever mentioning politics or women’s liberation, her songs helped to change long-held notions about gender roles. 'Rated ‘X’' and 'Don’t Come Home A’Drinkin (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)' were personal pleas — not political treatises — that sought an end to double standards," according to her obituary in The Tennessean.

During her career, Lynn became Nashville's first prominent woman to write and record her own material and was one of the first female music stars to generate her own hits. Yet with all her success she never wander too far from her beloved Kentucky.

Puckett remembers visiting her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.

"Her home was pretty close to the guest campsite, riding stables and the amphitheater where she performed," he said. "I was surprised by how little security there was around her house, people would wander over and ask if she was home."

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Lynn's family members also run a small gift shop on the property where observant customers might purchase an item autographed by the country music legend.

"They told me Loretta would occasionally visit the shop and if she saw something she liked, she'd pick it up and sign it," Puckett said. "I bought a flower vase signed by Loretta Lynn."

With her family close by at the Hurricane Mills ranch, Lynn continued to work until she suffered a stroke in 2017. She remained healthy enough to release her 50th solo studio album “Still Woman Enough” in 2021. In doing so, "The Coal Miner's Daughter" gave the world one last helping of her deep Kentucky pride.

"She was Loretta Lynn 24/7 and that came through in her music and it's why people loved her so much," Puckett said.

The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, contributed to this article. Reach Features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.